New York & Company to drive growth with Eva Mendes Collection

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Mar 17, 2017

New York & Company sees a bright spot in its Eva Mendes Collection. The company on Thursday reported strong results from the collection and announced plans to expand its partnership with the actress.
 
The Eva Mendes Collection will be expanded to over 50 shop-in-shops and 19 Eva Mendes boutiques, including six New York & Company stores that are opening in the coming months. New York & Company aims to attract new clientele with the expansion.

 
"We marked an extraordinary milestone with Eva this past year, achieving over $50 million in sales, with a goal to reach over $100 million in the near term," explains Greg Scott, CEO of New York & Company. "Eva has been a fantastic partner and I'm excited to see how this expansion will impact Eva's fans.
 
New York & Company full year net sales decreased to $929.1 million and comparable store sales decreased 0.7%. GAAP operating loss was $15.4 million and net loss was $17.3 million.

Fourth quarter net sales also decreased to $266.3 million, and comparable store sales fell 0.4%. Gross profit as a percentage of net sales increased 170 basis points to 27.4% and SG&A expenses were $82.3 million. Despite the decreases in the quarter, New York & Company met its expectations for the quarter with a double-digit increase in e-commerce and an expansion in overall gross profit margin.
 
In addition, GAAP operating loss was $9.2 million in the fourth quarter and GAAP net loss was $10.0 million. Full year and fourth quarter net loss per diluted share were $0.27 and $0.16, respectively.
 
For 2017, New York & Company plans to continue driving growth in e-commerce and its celebrity and sub-brands. The company also expects its first quarter net sales to decline in the in the low single-digit percentage range and comparable sales to range from low single-digit negative to flat.